Laurel Fork Gorge

Trail Name Laurel Fork Gorge Nearest City Hampton State Tennessee Trail Marking AT White Rectangle Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Moderate Hiking Time 44 Hours <br />0.25 Days <br />240 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 7.47.4 mi <br />11.909 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation ~700"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point 21402,140 Feet <br />713.333 Yards <br />652.272 Meters <br /> Nearest Medical Elizabethton, TN Trip Reports Click Here Loading map... {"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"270px","height":"180px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":8,"layers":[],"controls":["zoom"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":36.27277000000000128920873976312577724456787109375,"lon":-82.1350000000000051159076974727213382720947265625,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

The Appalachian Trail travels through Laurel Fork Gorge, rarely straying far from the creek. Probably the most popular hiking destination for TEHCC is Laurel Fork Falls, a 50' cascading waterfall. There are AT access points at both the NW end of the gorge (Hampton) and SE (Dennis Cove).

Swimming is not allowed at the falls because of dangerous undertow in the pool. Wading downstream of the falls is suggested for enjoyment.

How to get there

Hampton

1. From Elizabethton, go southeast on US 321 through Hampton for 1.3 miles.
2. Look for parking area on the right.

Follow blue blazed trail to AT.

Dennis Cove

1. From Elizabethton, go southeast on US 321 through Hampton for 0.8 miles.
2. Turn right (south) on FR 50 (Dennis Cove Road) and travel 3.9 curvy miles.
3. Look for AT access parking area on your left.

Route Description

The listed mileage and elevation change are for complete end-to-end and return hike. More typically the day hikes are an out-and-back from either access point. From Hampton, it's a 5.5 mile round trip. From Dennis Cover, it's about 2.6 miles round trip.

Typical Conditions

Well maintained Appalachian Trail, including blue blazed side trail from Hampton. Sometimes during spring, the upper trail may be required due to flooding.

Fees, Permits, etc.

Group size is limited to 10 people in the Pond Mountain Wilderness Area.

Misc. Information

A bit of history...
The Koonford Bridge was destroyed by flooding in 1998 - and replaced few weeks later in one day by many volunteers. story link
Two further wilderness trail bridges destroyed in the same flood were replaced before the thru-hikers arrived that year. story link2
And the rock steps by the falls were also created in 1998 through concerted effort. story link3

Forest Service website information.

Maps

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="36.275" lon="-82.148" type="terrain" zoom="14" width="725" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Hampton_Blueline_Trail_501.kml http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/High_Water_Trail.kml

(C) 36.27277,-82.135 Laurel Fork Falls (G) 36.264067, -82.1231 Trailhead - Dennis Cove

(G) 36.28532,-82.15212 Trailhead - Hampton (G) 36.28211,-82.14852 Entering Pond Mtn Wilderness (G) 36.28151,-82.14323 Intersection with AT

(F) 36.278642,-82.136229 Laurel Fork Shelter (G) 36.28298,-82.14083 Trail split - stay right

(L) Trail Bridge

</googlemap>

Photos

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  View of Laurel Fork Gorge from Potato Top